a blended life

Tonight we had a little birthday dinner/pie for Jacob who will be super old starting tomorrow.  I love the expression on his face back there: Mom is a genius--she put 29 candles on a day-old poppyseed muffin and put the muffin on the pie. It looked like an anemone-the candles kept moving around and the muffin was unrecognizable. It was pretty funny! The pie didn't catch fire or anything!  I love the smoke coming from it in this one: A few random shots taken by Karina, who has a much better eye for photography than I do and should really start taking pictures again. Anyone else think it might be bedtime? Happy birthday, little bro! We love you!

A few months ago, I came across this blog . It's done by a girl who got a degree in fashion but was unable to find a job, so she started a blog that featured outfits she put together from Walmart stuff. I don't particularly love Walmart for a variety of reasons, but I was impressed at the whole concept of trying to be frugal and still dress yourself well, even on a budget.  The sister of a friend of mine (don't think about that too hard) owns a consignment shop in the next town over. That means that I can take my unwanted clothes and all the clothes girls grow out of, they sell it for me and give me half of whatever it makes. I can either spend the money there or take the cash. Seriously, it's the best setup. Last year I made over $100.  I love the idea of reusing clothes, shoes, or whatever, if it's possible. We generate so much waste that it feels good to buy someone else's clothes and make use out of them--as long as they fit well. I enjoy looking around a ...

Paul Simon-So Beautiful or So What Tour or The fact that he is one of the most influential songwriters of the past century overrides the fact that he can't dance. Most of you already know that I went to a Paul Simon concert on Monday--which might have been my highlight of the year. Here are quite a few pictures from a little road trip to Phoenix I took with Jacob and Karina. We left on Sunday and came back Tuesday, or in other words, not long enough to enjoy the 100 degree saguaro-ish weather. But first, here's a random box of delicious chocolates to look at: Back to the trip: This scenery was surprisingly interesting. Southern Utah has a lot of offer as far as unique landscape. Exploring some of the national parks (Utah has 5) is high on my list of things I want to do to enjoy living in this state.  Jacob taking a picture of this canyon:  What the canyon looks like without Jacob and a fence in the way: A sign that I thought was really funny. Actually, it's n...

So, my parents have been gone off and on for several months now. That's means I've played the part of Official Single Mom. We've had some good weeks, we've had some really fun times, and we've had some downright awful weeks. The past two weeks were particularly hard. I don't know if it's worth going into the details. It could be an interesting piece of family history later on, but it could also be a major complain fest--which is something none of us needs.  One thing I've learned is that I can't expect to have everything go the way it's supposed to. I feel like not enough butter spread thin over a piece of bread. I can't reach all parts of our lives all the time. Sometimes we eat nothing but ramen noodles. Other times we scrape the drawer for something to wear but everyone's hair is curled. Sometimes we have chili and cornbread but we can't see the floor because there are too many doll outfits covering it. There is a lot of pressure ...

Do you ever read other people's blogs and you think, "That's fantastic, but let's hear a little less about your kids and more about YOU?" I do, so naturally I assume that everyone on earth feels that way. Remember a few years on Facebook when everyone was writing notes called "25 Things" and you had to write 25 semi-interesting facts about yourself? Everyone acted all put out about having to do it, but  I've never seen so many contributors! My favorite was when a friend of mine made a huge stink about having to do it (she called it "Fine! 25 Things!"), then ended doing an additional 25 list after that. So, here are 25 things about me. If you want to know something else that I didn't include ("when are you going to grow out those childish bangs already?") you can comment--or for my non-commenting fan club, you can email me. 1. I am not, and never will be, a morning person. This is not a crime or a sign of laziness, it...